Senior Urban Designer

POSITION DESCRIPTION: Join Harris County Precinct 4 as a Senior Urban Designer. If you're looking for an opportunity to shape the future of western Harris County across urban, suburban, and rural communities then this might be the right opportunity for you. The Infrastructure Division is seeking a highly motivated professional interested in working in a collaborative and dynamic work environment with abundant opportunities to learn and contribute to turning community plans into built projects in the county's westernmost precinct. The Senior Urban Designer reports to the Director of Planning & Community Development and is a role that requires independent thought leadership, strong judgement, and analytical skills. The position will oversee a unique portfolio of projects that carry recommendations from the All in 4 Precinct 4 Community Plans and other adopted plans into the Capital Improvement Program, leading each project from community priority through conceptual design, supporting the handoff to engineering and project delivery, and serving as a resource on community and design intent as projects move forward. The position will also work with the All in 4 Precinct 4 Community Plans' steering committees on a recurring basis on plan implementation, measuring progress, and keeping communities informed and engaged. Working alongside planners and civil engineers, the Senior Urban Designer will set goals and priorities for the portfolio, provide QA/QC on staff and consultant deliverables, lead community engagement on assigned projects, and lead the Precinct's placemaking efforts, including public art and cultural tourism initiatives that celebrate the history and identity of Precinct 4 communities. Additionally, the Senior Urban Designer will prepare design concepts, plans, and visualizations, compile spatial data, organize presentation materials for the Infrastructure Division in Precinct 4, and represent Precinct 4 on any appropriate boards and commissions related to planning, urban design, and community development. This position has no direct reports initially and may assume supervisory responsibilities as the team grows.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• General understanding of the capital project delivery process and how planning and conceptual design inform engineering, design, construction, and knowledge of principles and practices of project management and community engagement.

• Ability to support the All in 4 Precinct 4 Community Plans' steering committees on a recurring basis, including facilitating meetings, reporting on plan implementation, measuring and communicating progress through performance metrics and dashboards, and gathering community input to update implementation priorities.

• Ability to oversee a portfolio of plan-to-project initiatives: develop team goals and priorities, schedule and assign project tasks across project teams, and provide QA/QC on deliverables from staff and consultants.

• Ability to translate community plan recommendations and engagement results into project concepts, including site plans, corridor and streetscape concepts, park improvements, and placemaking elements such as public art and cultural features, with concept-level cost estimates and project scopes ready for the Capital Improvement Program.

• Ability to work alongside civil engineers and the Harris County Office of the County Engineer, to communicate community and design intent at the handoff to engineering, and to provide input as projects advance so that plan recommendations are carried forward within engineering, right-of-way, drainage, and budget constraints.

• Ability to lead placemaking initiatives, including public art and cultural tourism, from community engagement and artist or partner selection through design integration, installation, and programming, in coordination with arts and cultural organizations, tourism partners, and local communities.

• Ability to prepare urban design guidelines, design standards, and placemaking toolkits that guide Precinct 4 capital investments.

• Ability to use drafting and technical design tools, including AutoCAD and 3D modeling (i.e. SketchUp, Revit, TestFit, ArcGIS CityEngine, etc.), and to produce rendered visualizations.

• Ability to work with sociodemographic data and utilize ArcGIS Pro or ArcMap, and to use data analysis and data visualization tools to summarize findings.

• Ability to work in Adobe Creative Suite and Microsoft Office Suite and adherence to best practices in visual communications.

• Ability to coordinate with county departments and regional partners that are leading housing and economic development related to All in 4 Plans and CIP investments to support their goals.

• Effective written and oral communication skills and the ability to organize, synthesize, and analyze information to prepare recommendations.

• Ability to contribute to a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, and to engage communities and individuals of all backgrounds and beliefs in planning and design process.

• Other duties may be assigned as necessary.

Harris County is an Equal Opportunity Employer https://hrrm.harriscountytx.gov/Pages/EqualEmploymentOpportunityPlan.aspx If you need special services or accommodations, please call (713) 274-5445 or email [email protected] Additional Requirements:

• Must submit a professional portfolio either a PDF or website

• Must submit a cover letter & resume

Education/Experience Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in urban/regional planning, urban design, architecture, landscape architecture, geography, public policy, civil engineering, or a related field of study.

• Five (5) years of professional experience in urban design, urban/regional planning, landscape architecture, or a related practicing discipline, including project management responsibility.

Licensure:

• Texas driver's license and a good driving record.

NOTE: Qualifying education, experience, knowledge and skills must be documented in your job application. You may attach a resume to the application as supporting documentation but ONLY information stated on the application will be used for consideration. "See Resume" will not be accepted for qualifications.

• Master's degree in urban/regional planning, urban design, architecture, landscape architecture, geography, public policy, civil engineering, or a related field of study.

• Seven (7)+ years of professional experience in urban design, urban/regional planning, landscape architecture, or community development, including implementation of capital projects stemming from comprehensive, subarea, corridor, or park master plans.

• Credential by the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), Professional Landscape Architect (PLA), CNU-A, or similar, or ability to acquire professional certification within one (1) year of hire in the candidate's field of study or practicing discipline.

• Knowledge of urban design, planning theories, principles, and practices, and quantitative and qualitative data and policy analysis related to transportation, parks and greenspace, land use, placemaking, urban resilience, and sustainable development.

• Knowledge of state and federal grant programs related to infrastructure, transportation, and parks.

• Proven track record as a project manager to organize a planning or design portfolio, set goals and priorities, provide QA/QC, and mentor junior staff.

• Experience delivering placemaking, public art, or cultural tourism projects, including commissioning or managing artists, cultural heritage interpretation, wayfinding, or destination development.

• Experience coordinating with engineering teams to carry planning and conceptual design work into capital projects.

• Experience supporting community advisory or steering committees, including tracking plan implementation and reporting on progress through performance measures.

• Experience supporting grant applications, cost estimates, cost/benefit studies, and equitable prioritization to inform capital investments and budgeting processes.

• Experience drafting scopes of work for professional services and coordinating the procurement process and contracts, including deliverable review and invoices.

• Experience drafting project reports, staff reports, technical memos, grant applications, and communications for presentations within the organization or with community groups.

Salary:

• Depends on Qualifications

WORKING AT HARRIS COUNTY PRECINCT 4: You will be surrounded by team members who bring “heart, hustle, and higher standards” to work each day. These leaders advance opportunity and justice as they deliver services to and advocate for the residents of Harris County. The team you will be joining is innovative, dynamic, and forward-looking.

Harris County employees receive a competitive salary plus medical, dental, and vision insurance at no cost to the employee after the first two months of full-time continued employment. Vacation, sick-time, and floating holidays allow our employees to recharge and balance work and personal time. Mandatory participation in our retirement program allows employees to save for retirement. Various other benefits and discounts lead to the satisfaction and engagement of our employees.

Employment is contingent upon passing a background check and drug screen.

Due to a high volume of applications positions may close prior to the advertised closing date or at the discretion of the Hiring Department.